Neighbors
by Katherine A. Jones
Summary: James and Lily are next-door neighbors who have never spoken before, but that all changes when a spider comes into the picture. Jily. Modern!Muggle!AU. One-shot.


**Hey everyone! Okay, so this is actually not the Jily story I was talking about, but I was bored because I have no homework due tomorrow (for once), so I thought I would write this little one-shot for all of you. This is actually inspired by a post I saw a loooooooooooong time ago on tumblr, so here goes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>James had a problem. And, unfortunately, that problem lived next door.<p>

The problem's name was Lily Evans. She had red hair, green eyes, and they had never spoken in the 10 years they had lived next to each other. They even went to the same school for crying out loud! Yet James had never quite worked up the nerve to talk to the beautiful girl who lived 30 feet away.

That all changed one day, though, when there was a knock at his door.

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><p>*Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.*<p>

"ALRIGHT, PADFOOT! I'M COMING! CALM DOWN!" James shouted at the door, setting his laptop down, rolling off the couch, and getting to his feet. He grumbled as he dragged himself over to the door, swearing he was going to kill Sirius if he just wanted a cup of sugar again. I mean, honestly! As if the fact that the bloke baked wasn't scary enough! Then he goes and asks James for a cup of sugar like he knows the bloody hell where it's kept!

He opened the door as he rubbed his eyes, "I swear to whatever it is most people pray to, Padfoot, that if you just want baking supplissssssss-"

His eyes widened as he looked at the girl on his front step, "Uh, hi."

Lily had this terrified look in her eyes as she glanced around, leaned in close, and whispered, "I need your help."

James's eyes narrowed, "With what...?"

Lily blushed – something James couldn't help but notice was very becoming on her – and replied with a small voice, "There's a spider."

Raising an eyebrow, James asked, "And you would like me to...?"

"Kill it, of course!" Lily said with an incredulous expression, like that should have been obvious. Which, now that James thought about it, it really was.

Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, James couldn't help but laugh a little. Birds.

Lily glared, "Well, if you're going to be like that, I guess I'll just have to find someone better to do it." She turned and started walking off.

"Wait!" James shouted, determined not to lose his chance, "I'll come kill it."

"Good. Follow me."

And so, in his sweatpants and t-shirt clad glory, James Potter followed Lily Evans back to her house to kill a spider.

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><p>He stared at the thing Lily had called a spider, absolutely certain that that was not, in fact, a spider.<p>

It was massive, hairy, and staring at him with all 8 of its eyes.

"What _is_ that thing?!" James asked, looking at the _thing_ with a sour expression.

"I told you, it's a spider," Lily replied behind him, clinging onto his shoulders.

James was afraid to take his eyes off of it, so Lily didn't get to see his incredulousness, but she did hear him say, "That is not a spider. That is a creature from hell."

"Well, arguably, all spiders are creatures from hell."

"Fair point."

"I'm full of them."

"I believe it."

There was a pause, "Well, are you going kill it or not?"

Oh, right, the spider problem was still there.

"Get me a brick."

"It's...it's on wood."

"I'll clean it up."

Lily's warmth detached itself from James's back as James continued to stare at the mass on the floor. She returned a moment later and handed him the brick.

"Okay, step back."

Lily did as she was told, shuffling out of the way. James took a deep breath, released it, and dropped the brick on the spider.

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><p>James took a sip of the water Lily had given him, staring at her kitchen table.<p>

"Well, that was..." Lily trailed off.

"You said it."

James glanced up at Lily and grinned. She smiled back and suddenly they were laughing.

After the laughter died down to giggles and the giggles to smiles, James said, "You know, I don't think we ever properly introduced ourselves." He offered her his hand, "James Potter."

She shook his hand, "Lily Evans."

"Nice to meet you, Lily Evans," James grinned.

"You, too, James Potter," Lily replied.

"So...since I just killed a monster, I think you owe me a date."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Do I?"

"Yes. How does Friday after school sound?"

"I think I can make that work."

They grinned at each other as they sipped their water, trying very hard to not start laughing again.

Lily glanced down at the table, a smile pulling at her lips, and asked with amusement, "So, who's Padfoot?"

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><p><strong>I liked that. I need to do more quick one-shots. Let me know what you all thought!<strong>

**Haley, I hope the bugs weren't too bad and the Jily made up for all the studying you had to do to today. Stay strong and just remember that I believe in you and you can do it!**

**Remember, I love reviews, they make my day, and I will always reply if you're signed in! Don't be afraid to let me know if you see any grammatical errors because I did not read through it super carefully.**

**Have a great weekend, everyone!**

**-Katherine**


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